Simple Needs Meet Necessary Ends
by stickynotelover
Summary: Neuro may have been a glutton willing to travel the human world for his stomach, but even he knew there were just some things you didn't try to go up against. Neuro/Detective Conan


Neuro considered himself a simple man; all he needed was a place to rest and a delicious meal to fill his belly, that was all.

Yako would point out that to be a simple man you _maybe_ needed to _technically_ be a _human _first.

Neuro's response was to hang her by the shoelaces from the office ceiling fan. Then place it on max speed.

As the puzzle eater was saying, he had simple needs, if he was hungry he ate, if he was tired he slept, and if you got in his way he would make sure you never did so again.

Simple.

He would admit that even though he had simple needs, his means were not. Eating mysteries required specific aspects:

To smell of many layers of deception, fear, rage, and any emotion or element that could make his future meal ripen and ferment to perfection, and then eventually fill his stomach with contentment. For the moment. That is all he would look for until the next meal.

So when the opportunity to feast upon something that was insured not to disappoint his appetite appears he leaps at it in as much of a predator style as possible.

99 percent of the time.

That whole 1 percent was something he never mentioned, because there was no need to. It was something so insignificant that it hardly needed mention.

But it was there, not just once or twice, but at least a hundred times. Hundreds of simply tantalizing smelling cases to be solved and devoured. But, he never tried to pursue them.

A twisting sensation in both mind and stomach discouraged him to.

Unease. Instinct. Fear.

Whatever it is was, it always managed to keep the infamous Nougami Neuro at bay from any crime that invoked such physical and psychological reactions.

Until he did not see any reason to continue to avoid it.

Like now.

The odd squirming of his mind and currently empty stomach continued to tell him to keep away from those particular untouched meals. Even while his mind was telling itself that there was nothing that should invoke such ridiculous sensations in him.

He is an all powerful demon and whatever this nuisance to his sense of priorities was, it was nothing but that. A nuisance.

However much all of the addicting smelling mysteries attached to these odd self preserving reactions made him more nauseous than hungry.

He did not care.

He would feed and he would feed now.

"N-Neuro! Let go! I can walk just fine on my own!" Neuro was dragged out of his musings upon hearing slave number one whine once again, as she uselessly tried to pry his iron grip off her skull.

The young woman's cries did not fall upon deaf ears, but sadistic ones. As Neuro, in his usual manner, did the exact opposite and squeezed harder. Her small frightened noises help distract him from his nausea, but only slightly. He had forgotten his excuse for her pain for a moment.

Feeling his stomach groan in agony reminded him easily. The louse wasn't intelligent or as clever as he, but she could read people fairly well, and she had read him far easier than Neuro liked to admit. Yako had noticed his discomfort as he stated the presence of a mystery and immediately left in its direction. She had questioned his health and it was what had gotten her in this current predicament.

The mystery was getting stronger. They were close. Very close.

It was right as they walked, Neuro finally releasing her from his grip, around the corner when the screams ripped through the air.

A body had fallen from the roof two buildings away from them. Neuro could feel his mouth water in anticipation.

That is... before he smelled it.

The stench of death was old, not fresh like it should have been with the new corpse. It wreaked of decay and exposure to many elements.

Then he heard a voice, young, boyish, and commanding.

He would have ignored it any other time, but it made him pause. It was demanding someone to call the police and an ambulance, before instructing the crowd not to approach the body.

Neuro felt Yako tug at his sleeve, obviously worried by his quiet and uncharacteristically serious expression.

"Neuro, what's wrong?"

He didn't answer. He didn't even torment her for believing something could possibly be wrong with him.

He stayed silent.

* * *

The police arrived soon and taped off the area. They requested anyone that had witnessed the event to stay close. Yako felt bad standing in front of the crowd right against the tape, even though neither her nor Neuro actually saw it happen.

The girl detective looked at the demon as he scanned the crowd on the opposite side of the tape. She didn't understand what was wrong with him or what he was looking for. She also figured he wouldn't take the time to explain it to her.

But... unnerved was what he looked to her. He looked spooked, ready to take flight and never return at any second. It made her scared in a way. She sighed. Maybe if she understood him better or could think more at his level, she'd be able to help somehow...

She felt him tense next her. There was nothing different about him, but there was suddenly a pressure coming off of him.

Neuro was staring directly across the tape barrier. Specifically at a small boy.

* * *

Neuro had spotted the boy the instant he made his way to the front of the crowd. He also noticed the boy was doing something much like he was. Using a human as a cover to solve the case himself. Hiding himself in plain sight.

Neuro recognized the boy from the papers as Edogawa Conan. Apprentice of the case solving sensation of late; The Sleeping Kogoro. Even if he hadn't known of the boy before this, he would have spot him without fail.

Death was hanging about the boy shoulders, staring right back at the demon.

* * *

Yako noticed the boy, finding it strange that he would be so calm near a corpse. She worried that he might have seen it hit the ground. She, herself, shivered just at the thought.

She realized with some surprise that the man standing with the young boy was Mouri Kogoro. She had seen him on the news more than once, but never really got into the cases he had solved.

That was before she was forced into the role of detective herself.

Yako looked back to the boy, only to jerk slightly in surprise to find he was looking back at her. He looked at her with unsuppressed curiosity and maybe even some recognition.

She waved at him with a small smile on her face.

The boy must have realized he was staring, because he blinked and then shyly waved back, before his attention got drawn to the scrutinizing demon next her.

She missed what reaction the boy had upon seeing Neuro, as a suited body unexpectedly appeared in her line of sight.

Yako looked up, half expecting to see Sasazuka or his partner, but instead met the eye of a tanned officer she'd never seen before.

"Eh? Aren't you that piggish detective from the papers?"

...She was never going to get away from that.

Before she could answer, Neuro spoke.

"Sensei was going to offer her detective services, but decided it was better to leave it in the more than capable hands of the police and Mouri Kogoro-san."

Yako and the officer both uttered sounds of confusion.

Neuro just grabbed her by the collar of her school uniform and walked away.

Yako could only watch as the bewildered officer turned back to the crime scene.

* * *

When the boy had made eye contact, Neuro knew it was time they left. Even if Death wasn't clinging to the boy in thick, smog-like layers, Neuro could see he wouldn't be able to hide his true identity from the boy.

He saw the calculative intellect in this Edogawa Conan's gaze.

He had also realized that the sickening feeling was the boy himself. The boy held a mystery so deep and deceiving that it became moldy and uneatable. Every bit of the mystery surrounding that child would just rot and try to attach itself to any mystery he got himself involved with.

"N-Neuro! Stop pulling!" Yako cried when he began to walk faster.

Neuro let go at once. For a moment, he had completely forgotten that Yako was even there.

She fell to the ground unceremoniously, yelping in pain, but try to right herself quickly.

He didn't wait for her to finish standing before he strode away at a slower pace.

Yako still sprinted to catch up before walking instep with him.

They walked in silence for some time.

"Neuro... there was something odd about that boy..." Yako looked to him hesitantly. "...wasn't there?"

He stayed silent.

* * *

**Woo! I had originally started writing this back in June of last year! I never really was motivated enough to finish it, but I just cranked it out with the two fics before this in a couple hours. I'm going to bed. Hope you enjoyed it! Comments and feedback are like very much!**


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